1324. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will intervene in a case affecting students enrolled in a degree course of a third level institution (details supplied) for applied social care for which students have recently been told will not be recognised by CORU; if his attention has been drawn to the impact that this will have on the current students; if his Department will examine any solutions to ensure that CORU recognises the qualification; if he will contact the college in order to seek a solution to this crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43171/22]
1249. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of asylum seekers currently provided with accommodation by the International Protection Accommodation Service, by type of accommodation, duration in IPAS accommodation and the number of children at the end of July 2022, in tabular form. [43424/22]
1248. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans to ensure equality for families that have children through surrogacy; if leave entitlements for such families will be equal to maternity leave arrangements and so on; if he will support amendments to the Health (Assisted Human reproduction Bill) 2022 at committee stage to permit same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43422/22]
1231. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps that he is taking to address the recent violent attacks including those occurring on public transport on members of the LGBTQ+ community; the steps that are being taken to challenge the anti-gay and trans rhetoric evident in the national media recently; the ways in which he is working with the community to identify new and effective strategies to address issues of homophobia and transphobia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42782/22]
1204. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the length of time that the current proposed core funding model for early childhood care and education will run; the length of time that the current freeze in fees will last; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42041/22]
1161. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will clarify the position regarding the local employment services provided by South Dublin County Partnership, SDCP, specifically; if the SDCP has lost the tender to provide the local employment services; if funding from her Department has been delayed to the partnership; if so, the reason for same; if her attention has been drawn to the threat of the redundancy facing 37 workers at the partnership; if she or her officials will meet with the workers representative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43717/22]
1056. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 108 and 149 of 14 July 2022, the reason the figures on refused, discontinued and-or disallowed applications for fuel allowance are not complied and available (details supplied); if she plans to supply the information requested; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41998/22]
999. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if she will approve tender notices for works in a school (details supplied); the reason for the delays to this process; if her attention has been further drawn to the impact of any delay on the school and its students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43843/22]
879. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if she will clarify the supports available in a situation (details supplied) where a child is not able to avail of public transport and can no longer be transported by her family to her school, specifically in this case when the circumstances mean that the family was unable to apply to any scheme before now and the new school term is imminent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43030/22]
740. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will condemn Israel’s military raids on the offices of Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations as an internationally wrongful act; if he will summon the Israeli Ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and request that the Israeli military commander in the occupied West Bank be ordered to lift the closure order on offices of the Palestinian human rights organisations; if he will request the Israeli Minister of Defence to immediately rescind the terrorist designation on Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42905/22]
650. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the supports that he intends to provide for owners of defective apartments; if he will support a redress scheme similar to the mica and pyrite schemes for those homeowners; if owners of defective apartments built prior to the 1990s and 2000s will be included in any future support schemes or tax treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43835/22]
630. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the species of birds which are on the open season hunting list; if these include birds that are amber and red listed or for which there are conservation concerns; and if the working group that was established in 2021 has reported to him yet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43423/22]
590. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans, if any, to legislate or alter current regulations on subletting of a tenancy without the consent of a landlord given the increase in such practices and the impact on living conditions and tenant rights of those affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43214/22]
407. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Finance if he will examine the impact of changes in the Finance Act 2022 in relation to section 31E of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 (as amended), which introduced an increased rate of 10% stamp duty on multiple purchases of housing units; the impact of this change on home reversion products which seek to help elderly persons remain in their home in situations in which they have fallen into mortgage arrears and so on; if he will consider amending the Act to allow for persons to continue to avail of such help and such products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43837/22]
237. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the estimated cost of the following measures to improve Irish Rail services; increasing the frequency of current DART services by 10% and 20% respectively; increasing the frequency of current commuter services by 10% and 20% respectively; increasing the frequency of current Intercity services by 10% and 20% respectively; and the expected cost of completing the Western Rail Corridor. [43035/22]
213. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport the steps that he is taking to address the recent violent attacks including those occurring on public transport on members of the LGBTQ+ community; the steps that are being taken to challenge the anti-gay and trans rhetoric evident in the national media recently; the ways in which he is working with the community to identify new and effective strategies to address issues of homophobia and transphobia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42781/22]
123. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the position in relation to the proposed 2% rise to the An Post pension scheme; when he will sanction same; the likely timeframe for payment to retired workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43867/22]
116. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will clarify the state of affairs at Huntstown power station operated by an organisation (details supplied); if another company can provide details; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43716/22]
88. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will clarify the position in relation to the previous scheme of support for electricity bills and specifically the position of some Traveller sites without individual supply; if the funding given to those individuals in these sites which was taken from an accommodation budget has or will be reimbursed to that fund from his Department; if he will further clarify whether alternative arrangements are in place to deal with this in the case of any future support scheme on electricity costs being implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43029/22]
1886. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if he will ensure that the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 will include leave entitlements equivalent to maternity leave entitlements for all couples who have children through surrogacy; the help and support that will be available to those who have children through surrogacy given the extensive costs involved; if there are plans to help those who would like to have children through surrogacy but cannot because of the cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41006/22]
1509. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will examine and review the family reunification issuing of visa process, especially in the case of Nigerian and Ghanaian nurses who are working in Ireland and hold critical skills employment permits who are waiting extremely long periods of time to obtain visas for family members to join them resulting in a negative impact on their mental health; the steps that she will take to improve the time it is taking to issue these visas to family members; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39865/22]
1369. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a list and the figures for funding to all private and voluntary bodies for services such as accommodation and so on for persons seeking international protection under his Department's area of responsibility for the years from 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, or relevant years of his Department's responsibility in tabular form. [40691/22]
1368. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a list of all funding given to private and voluntary agencies and bodies for services provided for his Department in connection to accommodation and other services for persons seeking international protection, for the years from 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, or for relevant years under his Department’s responsibility in tabular form. [40690/22]
1367. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a list of all private and voluntary agencies and bodies contracted by his Department to provide services for asylum seekers and those seeking international protection for the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40689/22]
1350. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has examined the position of some providers who had used the previous support such as higher capitation and programme support to boost payments for staff, but now face having the graduate support limited to one staff member per room under the core funding model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40187/22]
1349. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the core funding graduate uplift will be paid for the total hours worked in the sessional services and not just the 15 hours contact time with the children; if additional hours paid by providers will be covered by this uplift; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40186/22]
1348. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has examined the position of some providers who, in the event that core funding model funding is not aligned to the calendar year or backdated, face losing up to two weeks’ payments; the measures or supports that his Department will have in place to ensure that such providers do not lose out on funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40185/22]
1347. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the funding in relation to the core funding model for early childcare will be aligned with each service’s calendar year and backdated in order that sessional and full-day care services do not lose out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40184/22]
1241. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated costs of raising certain payments (details supplied) to €350 per week. [40598/22]
1240. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in a full year or removing all current bands for the contributory and non-contributory pension schemes and placing all applicants on one band at €350 per week. [40597/22]
1239. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in a full year of raising the maximum contributory and non-contributory pension payment to €350 per week. [40596/22]
1238. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in a full year of raising certain payments (details supplied) to €350 per week. [40595/22]
1237. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in a full year of raising the full rate of carer's allowance and carer's benefit to €350 per week per person cared for. [40594/22]
1236. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in a full year of raising jobseeker’s allowance and jobseeker’s benefit payments to €350 per week. [40593/22]
1235. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost in a full year of paying current fuel allowance payments to all those in receipt of any social assistance payment regardless of time on that payment or living alone rules, etc., and of paying the fuel allowance to all those in receipt of any social insurance payment. [40592/22]
696. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide details of circumstances in which homeless services and emergency accommodation have been contracted by the State or local authority to a private entity; the relevant officials or bodies with responsibility for ensuring that such accommodation meets required standards; the way that it is ensured that persons and bodies providing such services are adequately and properly trained to provide such services; the way that homeless persons availing of such services can appeal or question decisions regarding their accommodation to a relevant authority, that is,. not the provider of such accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40688/22]
695. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide the details of all funding provided to private and voluntary bodies and agencies for services for homeless persons including accommodation for the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40687/22]
694. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a list of all private and voluntary companies and agencies contacted by the State to provide emergency accommodation for homeless persons for the years 2018 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40686/22]
147. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if a property (details supplied) which previously had some work done by a previous occupant is now barred from receiving support under the better energy scheme for additional work if the work entails similar measures such as wall insulation, even if the current BER rating of the home is a D1 while the proposed work would result in an improvement to a BER rating of B1; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41422/22]
525. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the protocols that are in place to assist hearing impaired customers who are unable or inhibited by Covid restrictions and concerns from personally attending social protection offices; if staff have specialised training in the way to deal and respond to such impaired customers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34917/22]
524. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to bring any proposals to Cabinet ahead of the October 2022 budget to change the current rates of household benefit package that relate to gas and electricity costs; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that these rates have not altered in many years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34916/22]
523. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will commission an independent inquiry (details supplied) into the record, outcomes and overall impact of contracting out employment services to agencies such as Seetec and Turas Nua; if so, if the inquiry will include a survey of the experiences of those unemployed who have passed through the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34915/22]
522. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to research that suggests changing the local employment scheme services from their current model to a target and profit driven model as currently envisioned by her Department will and has in other jurisdictions have profoundly negative effects on the unemployed and the services provided generally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34914/22]
521. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will meet with representatives of workers affected by the loss of contacts for local employment scheme services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34913/22]
149. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applicants who were refused the fuel allowance in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38520/22]
143. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to research (details supplied) which suggests that procuring public employment services through performance-based contacting will result in community sector organisations losing out to larger cash-rich firms with detrimental impacts on the unemployed who rely on the services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38523/22]
138. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the companies that have won new contracts for the provision of local employment services; the amount of funding involved in each case; and the duration of the contact; the current providers of Local Employment Services that have lost their contracts for public employment services a as result of his tendering out process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38524/22]
108. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of the fuel allowance who have been removed from access to the allowance for exceeding the income thresholds in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38521/22]
105. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the meetings that she or her officials have had or plan to have with representatives and workers in Local Employment Services who have had or are in danger of having their jobs replaced as a result of the current policy of tendering out these positions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38522/22]
15. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether food production policy in Ireland needs to be revised given the recent report by an organisation (details supplied) on the state of food security and nutrition in the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38602/22]